The shooting wounded a wild swan, and the five men were miserable

Yangzi Evening News Network April 22 (Correspondent Zhu Laikuan Reporter Gao Feng) On the morning of April 22, the Environmental Resources Court of the Luoma Lake Basin held a public trial at the Suqian City Suyu Canal Bay Forest Zoo to hear a case of endangering precious and endangered wild animals. The trial attracted nearly 200 people, including local people and tourists. The court also invited some people's congress deputies, CPPCC members and environmental volunteers to observe the trial.

At the scene of the trial, the five were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment and short-term detention respectively

After trial, the court sentenced defendant Li to six months' imprisonment and a fine of RMB 4,000 for the crime of endangering precious and endangered wild animals; the remaining defendants were sentenced to four months' detention, suspended for five months, and fined RMB3,000. At the same time, one air gun and nineteen lead bullets were confiscated, the tools of the crime seized.

The public prosecution alleged that on the afternoon of December 23, 2020, defendant Li and his gang, together with defendants Zhu X, Ma X, Chen X, Zhong X, and others, went to the Zhuhai Reservoir near Yinhuang Village, Wangguanji Town, Suqian City, and used air guns to injure a wild swan in the reservoir knowing that the swan was a national key protected animal, and jointly illegally hunted the swan. Later, fearing that others would call the police, several people returned the injured swan to nearby villagers.

Among them, defendant Li proposed to hunt swans together and injured the swan with an air gun; defendant Zhu first discovered that there were wild swans in the Zhuhai Reservoir, filmed a video and sent it to defendant Li, encouraging him to hunt and drive an excavator to assist Li, Chen, and Zhong to capture the injured swans; defendant Ma, at the suggestion of defendant Li, gathered defendants Chen and Zhong to participate in the hunt; defendants Chen and Zhong together with Li and Zhu captured the injured swans.

After identification, the captured swan is the giant swan Cygnus cygnus, which is listed in the "List of Wild Animals under National Key Protection" and is a national second-level protected animal.

It was also found that the swan was transferred to the Suqian City Suyu Canal Bay Forest Zoo for rescue and died on January 11, 2021 due to wound infection. After defendants Li, Ma, and Zhong were arrested and arrested, they truthfully confessed the facts of their crimes and those of their co-defendants; defendants Zhu and Chen voluntarily surrendered and truthfully confessed the facts of their crimes and those of their co-defendants.

After the incident, the public security organs seized one air gun and nineteen lead bullets, the tools of the crime, in accordance with the law. At the court trial stage, the five defendants voluntarily paid RMB20,000 in ecological restoration funds to restore the damaged bird resources.

After trial, the court held that the defendants Li X, Zhu X, Ma X, Chen X, and Zhong X illegally hunted and killed rare and endangered wild animals under key national protection and destroyed wildlife resources for the purpose of eating, and their acts had all constituted the crime of endangering precious and endangered wild animals, and should be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and fined.

After the trial, the signing and unveiling ceremony of the ecological judicial practice base in the Llama Lake Basin was held at the scene, and the reward funds and 2 warty swans were donated to the Suqian City Suyu Canal Bay Forest Zoo.

Proofread by Xu Heng

Source: Purple Cow News